Kinley Dowling (BMus’07) recently released her first solo album, titled Letters Never Sent.  The seven-song album was produced by Colin Buchanan of the band Paper Lions.

In her debut solo album, the singer-songwriter opens up about her experience with sexual assault, expressing sentiments from ‘letters never sent.’

“I thought this was the best way to express myself, through art,” said Dowling in an interview with CBC.

One song in particular, Microphone, tells a very personal story of the night Dowling says a young man sexually assaulted her after her high school prom. The reaction she’s received from the song, from close friends and others, has been encouraging.

“It’s opening up a conversation now, which is pretty great.”

Dowling is a member of the award-winning Canadian band Hey Rosetta! The group won four out of a possible seven East Coast Music Awards (ECMA) in April of this year.

Read more in “‘Opening up a conversation’ about sexual assault: Kinley Dowling pens cathartic debut album” on cbc.ca.

Photo: Bobby Singh/@fohphoto